It is finally official. Yamaha have today announced that they have signed a five-year deal with Spanish telecommunications company Movistar to act as title sponsor for the factory Yamaha team.

The deal will see Movistar branding appear prominently on fairings, leathers, team uniform, team trucks, etc, and the team be called Movistar Yamaha MotoGP.

The deal had been rumored since the start of the year, and had been confirmed unofficially last week, when Movistar presented its TV schedules. But the formal announcement came only today, when the Spanish firm unveiled the price structure for its pay-per-view offering in Madrid.

The contract had been a long time in the making, as there was a conflict over fairing space with sponsor Monster, who had signed a two-year deal with team at the beginning of last season.

According to reports in Spanish magazine Solomoto, appearing on the US website Sport Rider, Yamaha Racing boss Lin Jarvis had flown to the US to help settle the deal with Monster.

This was key, as Movistar is both offering much more money than Monster – the Sport Rider report claims it is twice as much – but the deal is also for a longer period, stretching for five years, while the Monster contract expires at the end of this year.

The reason for the deal is to help promote the Movistar pay-per-view TV package. In a deal similar to that on offer in the UK, where BT Sport has secured the rights, Movistar is using its sports and entertainment packages to help sell broadband services. Having Yamaha’s MotoGP team be associated with Movistar will be a useful sales aid in the key Spanish market.

The livery to be used by the team has not yet been unveiled. That will be revealed ahead of the first race of the season at Qatar, in two weeks’ time.

Source: Yamaha Racing

This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.

This clearly is not important except: Why are CEV results put on the MotoGP website. It would be like having AMA results on the WSBK site. Why is Pedro still at Honda. Why was the rookie rule dropped for Merguez? Why are there so many Spanish riders in MotoGP but almost no Spanish people in any other form of motorsport. What nationality of rider will replace Rossi when he retires. Clue Espargaro 1 or 2. So next season there is a good chance that 4 of the top 4 factory riders will be……Spanish. Why are 4/18 rounds in Spain.

It is however a complete coincidence.

Westward

No one else supports motorcycle sport like the Spanish (it’s people, businesses, and government). In Britain and the US they don’t have so much as a feeder class in BSB or AMA, but rather systems that are more like failed competitive series. The only thing that was close was WSBK, but that is now owned by the same group Bridgepoint that owns Dorna.

Italy is showing more interest, but they don’t have anything with even the slightest following of BSB or AMA, let alone WSBK.

It would be like show concern for the NFL cause its mostly American…

proudAmerican

I’m just glad to see a company give a long-term commitment to the sport of motorcycle racing.

The AMA can’t even find television cameras for their races.

Norm G.

@ smiler. you forgot one…

why did Bean’s Moto2 kit have a clear speed differential at times (visible on TV this) when everybody’s supposedly on control engines, control electrics, and control tyres…?

things that make you go hmmmn… (Normstradamus rubs chin)

Cam

@Norm G: Everyone loves a conspiracy theorist…

smiler

Conspiracy theories take their start point at a concluding opinion then add selective facts to make 2+2 = 16. See 9/11 truth foil hate wearers.

Spain has not always been interested in motorcycle racing and it is and MotoGP was always was an international series, where, generally speaking talent rose to the top and took sponsorship with it. Hence the invasion of the Americans in the 70’s and 80’s who brought US sponsorship for example.

The NFL is a national series, with largely US players, who do not play outside the US and it is mostly watched within the US. So the comparison is not really relevant.

In 1990 there was one round in Spain and 2 very mediocre riders in 500’s. It is the job of an international organisation / company running a sport to keep it so. For example you can say many things about Bernie Ecclesone but he has not put national interest before the desire to create an international series.

By 2000 (8 years after Dorna took over, there were 3 Spanish rounds and 6 Spanish riders in 500’s and a world champion.

It is widely known that by setting up the MSMA they forced out the FIM and have also ensured a media monopoly by implementing the unique fee for press credentials. A practice described as flagrant exploitation.

From 1949 until 1999, Spain did not have a single winner. From 199 onwards 4 winners.

A conspiracy clearly. Then again many American do talk about the free market but in reality they also love a monopoly: Microsoft, Boeing & Fanny May / Mac to name but three.

Westward

@ smiler

You have completely missed the point. Spain and Italy have an infrastructure that cultivates talent. The US and the GBR not quite to that extent. Spain & Italy start their kids with pocket bikes in an organized series, much like Americans have for football and baseball in the form of Pop Warner & Little League. Then their kids race 50cc mini-bikes. From there they graduate to 125cc, and then to 250 or at least they use to be, now they are the Moto3 and Moto2 series in the CEV Buckler, which btw, is sponsored by Repsol.

The Americans and British do not have such structured involvement nor the sponsorship by a major corporation like Repsol. Italy has more support for their young talent than the US & GBR, they have a national racing team.

The American’s and British could create a formidable series and grow it greater than the Spanish, but their does not seem to be the willingness on many levels. Look at the US for example, there is baseball, football, hockey, and Nascar that compete for the interest of the public. AMA or even MotoGP is never in the sporting news.

If it were not for the Spanish and Dorna, or the Italians and Infront, MotoGP and WSBK would still seem more like AMA in the US, rather than Formula One to the world…

smiler

That is the arguement of an apologist, really. There might not be the same enthusiasm for motorcycle racing in the USA now but that is certainly not the case in the UK, France, Aus and the Far East. I would also argue that this is no longer the case with a new US entrant in Moto2, Hayden still in MotoGP and Buell in WSBK with US riders. Even Hopper is back in BSB.

It is certainly not the case in the UK. There is the TT, BSB, WSBK, 125 and 250 feeder series, at least 12 world class tracks and plenty of potential sponsors. Just look at F1. There were 120,000 people at Brands to watch Foggy in 2000. Biggest motorsports crowd ever in Europe. However: Dorna have signed a 5 year deal with BT to show MotoGP, which absolutely no one watches. Why would they do that if their goal was to promote MotoGP in the UK?

Italians have always been mad on racing but they also have a huge interest because of their racing heritage, F1, the Milie miglia, Ferrari, the race tracks they have, motorcycle companies, etc, etc. Spain has no heritage in any kind of motosport. Not in F1, only Carlos Saintz in Rallying, no teams, 3 tracks and no manufacturers.

Most of the teams in motosport racing are based in Italy, Germany or the UK. However none in Spain.

List of motogp winners by nation: 500cc/MotoGP champions by nationality Country Total Italy 20 UK 17 US 15 Australia 8 Spain 4 Rhodesia 1 All of Apsin’s wins have come after 1999.

Dorna have systematically turned MotoGP into a Spanish business. Who will take over Rossi’s place when he retires?

Norm G.

Q: “Who will take over Rossi’s place when he retires?”

A: Bean.

Norm G.

PS: this assumes Honda doesn’t snatch Ezpelata’s nuts out from under him and use ‘em for dice.